September 5, 2008

Table of Contents   

REDIRECT HOST
How to Use This Branding Tool

A redirect host is a hostname used to handle any click-through redirections. That is, when an email is sent from the CoolerEmail platform, CoolerEmail transforms all of the links in the message to first go to its servers for logging purposes, and then redirect from there to the final link destination. By default, CoolerEmail uses its hostname, www.icebase.com to handle these redirections. By specifying a redirect host, users benefit from extra branding with their emails, and it's completely free for any account with CooleEmail CRM tools . Instead of putting CoolerEmail's hostname (www.icebase.com) in the message, CoolerEmail puts in whatever the user has specified (e.g., email.mydomain.com).

To set up a redirect host, the first requirement is that the user must be able to make changes to the DNS records for the domain that they would like to make use of. If they do have control of their DNS, then they simply log into their CoolerEmail account, navigate to the My Account screen and look to find the correct IP for the redirect host for their account (this is generally 64.186.224.244, but each user should verify this as CoolerEmail does have other IPs in use). With the IP they can set up the DNS record, and once that record has propagated, they can enter their hostname into the field provided in the My Account screen. From then on, their hostname will be used for all tracked links!
NEW TEMPLATES
New Templates Online

CoolerEmail has five great new templates available for you:

New Theme: Stargazer Lily

New Theme: Corporate Web

Event: Big Sale

Event: Picnic

Event: Barbecue.

Just go to the "Layout" link in your edition editor to see these and all the other templates available for your use.
HELP US HELP YOU
Next time you log into CoolerEmail, please take a moment to update your information on the "My Account" tab. Having current information helps us keep you up-to-date on all CoolerEmail news.


We are always striving to make CoolerEmail ever better. Customer requests for feature enhancements are responsible for many additions. If you have feedback or suggestions, please send them to: suggest@cooleremail.com.

Cooler by Design

Send a Cooler cartoon suggestion, to Bill Mitchell!
CLOSED LOOP OPT-INS NOW REQUIRED
POLICY CHANGE EFFECTIVE AUGUST 15

As spam complaints continue to rise, blacklist operators are tightening up requirements to unblock email. Because of these more stringent requirements, CoolerEmail is updating its policy for closed loop opt-ins to ensure deliverability for our users.

Following is a Q&A with Justin Coffey, CoolerEmail's Director of Technology, covering the new policy effective August 15, 2008.

Cooler Tips: What is the new policy and why is it necessary?

Justin: Simply put, we will require all users sending email from our IPs to make use of our closed loop confirmed opt-in sign-up forms instead of our single opt-in (unconfirmed) sign-up forms. This is because nearly all ISPs and all blacklist operators are requiring closed loop confirmed opt-ins to resolve spam complaints. In other words, if we provide a single opt-in to an ISP or blacklist operator in response to a spam complaint, we will likely not be able to get that block resolved.

Cooler Tips: Why are ISPs taking this step?

Justin: The logic that ISPs use behind this is that without a confirmation email being sent to the recipient subscribed to a given list, the list operator has no idea if the recipient themselves signed up for the list. Even worse, there are many malicious users on the Internet (shocking, I know), and these users will put spamtrap addresses on legitimate lists simply to pollute the list. Once this happens, any time that list is sent to, the spamtrap address is also sent and a block ensues. We have seen users' lists become absolutely worthless because of this. Closed-loop confirmations mean that these spamtraps never actually get added to the list and, thus, are the only means of defense.

Cooler Tips: What do CoolerEmail's users have to do to comply?

Justin: Users will not have to do anything to comply with this new policy. All of their forms will automatically use the closed-loop opt-in mechanisms.

Cooler Tips: Why is it a good idea for users on private IPs to convert as well?

Justin: For all the same reasons, really. Anyone continuing to use single opt-in forms runs the risk of having their IP permanently listed by one or more major blacklists.
NEW SPAM CHECK FEATURE
SpamAssassin Kicks Off August 15

CoolerEmail's new spam check feature in effect August 15 now makes use of a widely used spam filtering application, SpamAssassin. The new spam check feature runs a user's content through it and is much more advanced, providing a detailed analysis. A numeric score is assigned to the content, and a report showing the breakdown of that score is provided. This will aid the user in altering their message to make it less "spammy." This is important because "spammy" content is both more likely to be caught by spam filters and reported as such, should it actually make it to the user's inbox -- even if the user opted in to receive that message.

CoolerEmail has added this feature to the preview page; however, it will also be run automatically on the send screen. The default (i.e., standard) installation settings for SpamAssassin designates anything with a score of 5 or more to be spam, though many administrators set the spam score threshold to as low as 3. Beginning August 15, CoolerEmail will stop any message with a score over 7 from being sent at all. Also, if a user has included a link to a URL that has been blacklisted by one of the major blacklist operators (SORBS, SURBL, SpamHaus, etc.), then that message will also be blocked. The user will see a message on the send page informing them that their message cannot be sent and the reason why. For any message with a score over 5, CoolerEmail will warn users that their message runs a high risk of being sent to the junk folder and that they should review their spam report and change their content accordingly.

If spam trap warnings occur, always, always, always alter content to remove those keywords before sending the edition.

Remember: the junk folder is a terrible place for a good email.

CoolerEmail
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